Today’s New York Times had an article written by Jane Brody that discusses the painful issues surrounding the decision to stop treatment, and its negative side effects, and let a cancer survivor live their last weeks in relative peace. This is always a difficult decision as many of us wish to hold on to life, [...]
Dendreon Corporation (Nasdaq: DNDN), the company that is testing Provenge a potential vaccine for prostate cancer, has started a second of two new Phase 2 trials. The multicenter trial, called ProACT (PROstate Active Cellular Therapy), is enrolling 120 men with metastatic, androgen independent prostate cancer. The trial protocol calls for all men to receive active [...]
Life is tough enough with all of its twists and turns. We all experience hardships on our path, but we all also experience many pleasures and euphoric moments. Those of us who are under the influence of advanced prostate cancer still experience many moments of great pleasure and contentment. As a matter of fact, I [...]
Amgen just completed, with positive results, a three-year Phase 3 placebo-controlled trial which evaluated denosumab for the treatment of bone loss (reduction of bone mineral density –BMD) in men undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for non-metastatic prostate cancer. One of the more common and significant side effects of ADT is loss of BMD. This loss [...]
It is my understanding that almost 90% of men who start hormone therapy initially respond to the drugs with their PSA falling significantly. However, there are many costs associated with ADT, many of which I have already discussed in this blog. The hot flashes, bone loss, weight gain, decreased libido and erectile dysfunction are often [...]
It is with great sadness that I wish to announce that Randy Pausch passed away on Friday, April 25. Randy is best known for his famous “Last Lecture.” Randy had been asked by his academic institution, Carnegie Mellon University, to present a lecture to the university community as if it would be his very last [...]
Many of us, who are dealing with advanced prostate cancer, become understandably concerned about our rising PSA. Given free choice, we all would be much happier if our PSA just disappeared and became undetectable. Granted, a rising PSA is indeed a bad sign, but the rate of rise and how we actually feel is more [...]
The last few days have seen a lot of commotion and celebrating in the prostate cancer world. There have been multiple news stories of an experimental prostate cancer drug, abiraterone, that has been reported to dramatically shrink prostate cancer tumors and extend survival in 70 to 80 percent of men with aggressive prostate cancer. Abiraterone [...]
Yesterday I wrote about using Keto (HDK) along with HC as a secondary hormone suppressant after traditional hormone blockades have failed to work. The reviews of HDK has been mixed with some doctors shying away from it because of its potential liver toxicity issues. However, for many men fighting advanced prostate cancer HDK is an [...]
"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service [...]
